The farm protests do not threaten the BJP electorally. Why is it so alarmed by them? Feb 22, 2021 · 10:04 am Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the foundation stone ceremony of various development projects in Kutch in December. | PIB/ AFP For much of its history as an independent country, India was an outlier. While most postcolonial nations failed to develop into democracies, India was often cited as a model. It was one of the few societies in the world to become a functioning democracy even before it was fully industrialised. However, with the election of Narendra Modi in 2014, this remarkable record has come under severe strain. Experts across the world have started to express concern about India’s democratic backsliding.